LAC Garden Tour 2011 by Ann Quinn

It was another successful year for the garden tour! If you’re like me, you always look forward to the opportunity to see what others have done with their yards, get new ideas about plants, and have fun talking with other like-minded garden lovers! This year was no different. I was to handle tickets at the Miller Street garden in the afternoon, so I started out right before 8:30 a.m. (when the air was delightfully chilly) to visit all the other locations! Several of the gardens were a distance apart from the others, but having done my homework, I had a planned route ready.


Karen Hoff welcoming the visitors to the Golden garden

Golden Garden

My first stop was the calm, serene garden in Golden. A large yard in the cool morning tempted me to sit a while with a cup of coffee under those tremendous trees –and how many big, beautiful clematis did they really have? Observations at additional gardens taught me a great deal about what I needed to try in my own yard. The “secret garden” tucked in a corner behind a large tree in the Marshall Street yard was a great idea. I definitely need one at my house to get away from the world occasionally! The sculptor’s garden on W. 35th was an inspiration with the many separate areas (water, curved tree grove, play area, workshop, and patio) creating a “fun to discover” garden on a large lot. The numerous pieces of large, modern sculpture created by garden owner Kevin Robb made this garden especially memorable.

Marshall Street Garden

Marshall Street Garden

Marshall Street Garden

Marshall Street Garden

Robb Garden

Robb Garden

Robb Garden

Robb Garden

The Miller Street garden where I spent the afternoon was relatively young at six years in the making, but already the basic structure of the layout had been determined to take advantage of sun and shade. Compost piles and an efficient work area were set up near the terraced vegetable garden, and the centerpiece was a small stream/pond, professionally designed by owner Dave Garton. Especially fun were the vegetable plants mixed in with the more traditional annuals and perennials (corn in the front yard!)

Miller Garden

Miller Garden

My rushed schedule meant that I was unable to have lunch at the gallery, but I know it was well-attended, with great food from all the cooking volunteers as well as conversation from the attendees! I look forward to next year’s event!

Co-Op Gallery gets a face lift!

The main floor of the LAC Art Center was a busy place over the weekend. Co-Op members brought in new work to be displayed...but first, lots of patching and painting was done. Matching that white paint was no easy task, but a close shade was mixed from a small sample by the folks at Ace Hardware. It was good thick paint and a rough, stucco roller was used to fill all the holes from past hangings - which had become a distraction from the wonderful artwork on display. With Kathy wielding the roller and Charlie doing the detail work with a brush, the place got a nice fresh look. After drying overnight, the walls were ready for hanging. As usual, the furniture was rearranged to display the stained glass and three dimensional work to its best advantage. And..if you haven't been in recently, you'll notice the used book shelves have been moved out into the main gallery and the classroom opened up. Everything is labled with new i.d. tags identifying the Co-Op work. So come on in and see the results - there is lots of new artwork to view!

Lakewood Arts Week..Fun, Fun!

Lynnette and Cindy A. being creative!

Lynnette working on mosaics

Well, we sure had a fun time this week! The City of Lakewood designated May 31-June 5 as Lakewood's Arts Week - an event they hope will become an annual occurrence from now on. Under the skilled direction of Lakewood's Cultural Arts Specialist Lorene Joos, a committee composed of representatives from most of Lakewood's cultural organizations had met for over a year to plan this special celebration. Arts Week was kicked off with an open house on the plaza in front of the Lakewood Cultural Center. We had a booth on site with LAC members Lynnette Kupferer and Cindy Ahrenkiel on hand to meet the public and to provide art demonstrations. Both were busy throughout the afternoon - Lynnette worked on a small mosaic and let some of the young visitors "help" glue down the glass. Cindy worked on her oil painting and told people all about LAC. Other members stopped by during the event. Pictured are Marje & Glen Walsh chatting with Ann Quinn. The event concluded with a wildly popular performance by our own Borscht Brothers, Bruce Geller & Jay Halpern. The afternoon was lots of fun thanks to wonderful help from the City of Lakewood staff - and of course the volunteer participation by our members! We got to meet many new people from the community as well as learn more about the other arts groups located throughout the City.

Cindy A. chatting with a visitor

Marge and Glen Walsh visiting with Ann Quinn


The Borscht Brothers entertaining the crowd